Level II
Chapter 2
Reading
Old Sept 29 2008
English | Vietnamese
IC3, IT, TOEFL, Best Answer
English | Vietnamese
Assessment
Water Ecology
Your life: does a river run through it?Có dòng sông nào chảy qua cuôc đời của bạn không?
Motivation
Before you read. Discuss these questions
1. The Mekong River is a long river that runs through six countries: China, Burma, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam. What happens to the river in one country may effect what happens to life downstream in another country. Are members of your class aware of news items, stories or experiences concerning the Mekong River? What are they?
2. Should the Mekong River be regulated? How should it be regulated? Who should regulate it?
3. Your class has the task of organizing a commission to regulate the Mekong River. Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 people and answer the following questions:
· What nationalities should be represented on the commission? How many people from each country should serve on the commission?
· What expertise and occupations should serve on the commission (political, commercial, industrial, social, scientific, or environmental)?
· Who should direct the commission?
· How should recommendations made by the commission be enforced?
Re-join your class and share your group’s answers to these questions. Can your class agree on a way to convene a commission?
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Bias in western writing |
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A bias in writing means that one writes from a specific point of view with a purpose to influence readers' thinking. Most articles that we read are not completely objective, that is, they usually have a bias behind the writing. In this chapter you will be asked to compare two pieces of Western writing. The topic, the Mekong River, is the same for both articles. But to understand the purpose of each article and to question the bias and motivation for each of the articles are good tools to learn. Why is each article written? For whom is it written? Who is writing the article and from what bias? When you can answer such questions, then you can be a better judge of the validity of what is reported in the article. You can determine how to fit it into your own system of beliefs and own sense of what is true or not true. |
Vocabulary Words & Exercises:
Vocabulary:
In Chapter 1, it was suggested that guessing meaning from context is a useful way to learn vocabulary rather than looking up unknown words in an English/Vietnamese dictionary. But sometimes you may find that looking up words in the dictionary is necessary to understand the meaning of a word. To become more fluent in English, use an English dictionary to find the meaning of a word. Use the English/Vietnamese dictionary as a last resort.
Sharpen Your Dictionary Skills:
Words in the dictionary are in alphabetical order. At the top of each page on the left and the right and usually in bold print, you will find guidewords. When you look up a word, the word should be located alphabetically between the two guidewords (or first and last word on the page). For example, if we look up the word “delta” in one version of the Oxford Dictionary, the guide words for this page are “deliverance” and “deltaic.”
deliverance deltaic
delta /deltæ/ n. ME. [ L f. Gr.] 1 The fourth letter (D, d) of the Greek alphabet. ME. 2 A tract of alluvial land, often more or less triangular in shape, enclosed or traversed by the diverging mouths of a river; orig. (the Delta) spec. the Nile River. 3 A triangle; a triangular area or formation.
The word being defined has a headword in bold print. Between the slashes ( / /) is the pronunciation in the International Phonetic Alphabet. Parts of speech are found as initials in italic type. Then you see initials or abbreviations that relay the date of when the word came into the English language (these abbreviations can be found in the front pages of the dictionary). In the square brackets ( [ ] ) you will see the etymology of the words. The definitions of the word are numbered in bold print.
Thus, we would understand this about the word “delta”: its pronunciation, its function as a noun, its use in English during Middle English times, its Latin and Greek origins, and its three definitions. What we can further surmise is that the second definition is most likely the definition we are looking for since it has to do with the topic of this chapter: Rivers.
The words in these exercises are the vocabulary items for this chapter. When possible, guess the meaning of the words in relation to our river topic and use the dictionary definition when necessary in order to learn the words. You may want to look ahead to Skill A for learning the skill of scanning for meaning. This will enable you to quickly look ahead in the articles to scan for the context of a word.
Alphabetize the following vocabulary:
1. Amazon _____________
2. basin _____________
3. abundance _____________
4. access _____________
5. enormous _____________
6. insure _____________
7. ensure _____________
8. dam _____________
9. remote _____________
10. facilitate _____________
11. manage _____________
12. awareness _____________
13. aspect _____________
14. challenges _____________
15. embrace _____________
Identify the guide words on each page that these words are found:
1. ecosystems _____________ _____________
2. floodplains _____________ _____________
3. drought _____________ _____________
4. harvest _____________ _____________
5. biological _____________ _____________
6. permanently _____________ _____________
7. destructive _____________ _____________
8. benefit _____________ _____________
9. mutual _____________ _____________
10. depend _____________ _____________
11. sustain _____________ _____________
12. respect _____________ _____________
13. species _____________ _____________
14. propose _____________ _____________
15. extensive _____________ _____________
Write the parts of speech of the following words.
1. flood _____________
2. foster _____________
3. channel _____________
4. surge _____________
5. hydrological _____________
6. winds _____________
7. riverbank _____________
8. lifeblood _____________
9. fund _____________
10. encourage _____________
Write the origin of the following words.
1. hydropower _____________
2. equitable _____________
3. utilization _____________
4. navigation _____________
5. inhabitants _____________
6. vital _____________
7. prosperity _____________
8. potential _____________
9. achieve _____________
10. ecology _____________
Write the number of definitions found for each of the words below in the space provided. Then choose the most appropriate definition for purposes of this chapter.
1. wind _____ _________________________________________
________________________________________________
2. fisheries _____ _________________________________________
________________________________________________
3. headwaters _____ _________________________________________
________________________________________________
4. teem _____ _________________________________________
________________________________________________
5. source _____ _________________________________________
________________________________________________
6. broaden _____ _________________________________________
________________________________________________
7. gates _____ _________________________________________
________________________________________________
8. watershed _____ _________________________________________
________________________________________________
9. energy _____ _________________________________________
________________________________________________
10. integrity _____ _________________________________________
________________________________________________
Phrases for VocabularyA phrase is a group of words that often are together. These words can be verbs and nouns such as take exams, enter university, get married, give assignments, or make good grades. These phrases can be adjectives and nouns like good grades, business suit, outer wear, or healthy lifestyle. Learning phrases like these is a good way to learn new words. In the field of river ecology there are numerous phrases related to the topic.
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Explanation of Reading Study Skill A (Academic Reading Skill):
Skimming and Scanning
Throughout this curriculum, we will emphasize the use of two skills: skimming and scanning. Both are skills that increase the speed of reading and both skills are very useful when having large amounts of material to read and for test taking purposes.
Skimming is a skill used to pre-read materials and to read through materials faster. We will elaborate on this in later chapters.
Scanning is a way of looking over the material to pick out specific items. For example, in the vocabulary section of this chapter you have many words to look up in the dictionary. But you are encouraged to guess the meanings of the words from context. In order to do that you must first find the context. So you scan the reading material for a specific word. When you located the word, read the two or three sentences around the word and guess the meaning. Some of these words can be found in the exercises below.
Exercises and Activities for Skill A:
Scanning
Use Readings 1 and 2 plus the boxed readings that accompany them to answer the following questions. Answer the questions as quickly as you can. Do not read the articles. Rather look for specific words and phrases. When you locate the words, read the sentences around the word to understand the meaning or find the answers to the questions below.
1. Locate the word “winds” in Reading 1. In context, is this word a verb or a noun?
2. Scan for “heart and soul of South East Asia”. What does “heart and soul” refer to?
3. How long is the Mekong? Hint: scan for a number.
4. What is “the dominant hydrological structure” referred to in Reading 1?
5. Which two countries along the Mekong are not members of the MRC?
6. Where are the headwaters of the Mekong?
7. How many dams have been proposed for the Mekong basin?
8. How many people depend on the Mekong?
9. What does IRN stand for? MRC?
10. Does IRN or MRC work with environmental and human rights groups around the world.
Reading 1
Mekong Basin
Mekong River Commission (MRC)
(from www.mrcmekong.org/mekong_basin/mbasin002.htm )
Mother of All the Waters, the Nine Dragons River, the River of Rocks or, more simply, the Great River. These are names as colourful and variable as the river to which they refer. This is a river whose powerful surge gradually broadens to form the Lower Mekong Basin. It is an area of 600,000 square kilometers containing large sections of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam in its embrace. As the Mekong rushes from its source in the Himalayas, it winds through the Basin’s flooded forests and floodplains and finally empties into the South China Sea. The river is the heart and soul of South East Asia and of its people. Its pulse is the timeless cycle of the ebb and flow of waters. In times of drought or flood as in times of rich harvest and prosperity, the Mekong touches every aspect of human life.
Measuring more than 4000 kilometers in length, the Mekong is one of the longest rivers in the world and one of the least spoiled. Its waters teem with an abundance of plant and animal species, many of which are found nowhere else and remain to be fully studied. For more than 5,000 years, the rich and diverse resources of the Mekong River Basin have sustained the people who live here. As the human population of the Basin continues to grow, the challenge will be to manage the Basin’s precious resources wisely and insure future growth.
As the dominant hydrological structure in South East Asia, the Mekong River plays a key role in virtually every aspect of human life. The Mekong’s waters provide access to remote areas, facilitate transport of goods and people, and provide the Basin’s 60 million inhabitants with food, employment and income. In Thailand, and Viet Nam, the Mekong forms the basis of extensive irrigation systems which remain to be fully developed in the other Mekong countries, particularly in Cambodia. The water resources of the Mekong represent enormous potential and use of these resources poses numerous challenges. MRC Programmes such as the Water Resources Programme, and the Water Utilisation Programme focus on hydrological issues, which must be carefully considered in order to achieve sustainable development of the Mekong’s water resources.
Information about MRC |
To promote and co-ordinate sustainable management and development of water and related resources for the countries' mutual benefit and the people's well-being by implementing strategic programmes and activities and providing scientific information and policy advice. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) was established on 5 April 1995. The MRC member countries are Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam. MRC maintains regular dialogue with the two upper states of the Mekong River Basin, China and Myanmar. The MRC member countries agree to co-operate in all fields of sustainable development, utilization, management and conservation of the water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin, such as navigation, flood control, fisheries, agriculture, hydropower and environmental protection. |
Reading 2
Mekong River: The Lifeblood of Southeast Asia
International Rivers Network
(modified from http://www.irn.org/programs/mekong/ )
The Mekong River is the heart and soul of mainland Southeast Asia. The 12 th longest river in the world, the Mekong runs 4,800 kilometers from its headwaters on the Tibetan Plateau through Yunnan Province of China, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. Over the past ten years, more than 100 large dams have been proposed for the Mekong basin by institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Mekong River Commission. Some of these projects have already been built. This vital ecosystem and lifeblood of the region is currently under threat.
Over 60 million people depend on the Mekong and its tributaries for food, water, transport, and many other aspects of their daily lives. Its annual flood-drought cycles are essential for the sustainable production of rice and vegetables on the floodplains and along the riverbanks during the dry season. Known as the Mother of waters, the river supports one of the world’s most diverse fisheries, second only to the Amazon.
One of the greatest threats is China’s plans to construct eight dams on the Upper Mekong/Lancang. Two of these dams have already been completed, and construction on the third project, Xiaowan, began in January 2002. These dams will have widespread impacts on the livelihoods of Mekong communities and on the natural ecology of the river system.
In Laos, IRN is working to stop World Bank support for the Nam Theun2 Dam and ensure that communities receive just compensation for losses suffered due to the ADB-funded Nam Theun-Hinboun and Nam Leuk Dams. IRN is also monitoring broader regional water resource developments, particularly those funded by the ADB.
In Thailand, IRN has been working with communities affected by the Pak Mun and Rasi Salai dams who are campaigning for the gates of both dams to be permanently opened and for the Mun River to be restored.
IRN is also monitoring the impacts of the Yali Falls Dam in Vietnam, which has affected communities in both Vietnam and Cambodia.
IRN supports local communities working to protect their rivers and watershed. We work to halt destructive river development projects, and to encourage equitable and sustainable methods of meeting needs for water, energy and flood management.
About International Rivers Network
Vision: IRN seeks a world in which river and their watersheds are valued as living systems and are protected and nurtured for the benefit of the human and biological communities that depend on them. This vision can be achieved by developing world wide understanding of the importance of rivers and their essential place in the struggle for environmental integrity, social justice, and human rights.
Mission: IRN's mission is to halt and reverse the degradation of river systems; to support local communities in protecting and restoring the well-being of the people, cultures and ecosystems that depend on rivers; to promote sustainable, environmentally sound alternatives to damming and channeling rivers; to foster greater understanding, awareness and respect for rivers; to support the worldwide struggle for environmental integrity, social justice and human rights; and to ensure that our work is exemplary of responsible and effective global action on environmental issues.
Strategies: IRN has adopted a two-pronged approach, combining work on changing global policies with campaigning on specific key projects around the world. We do this because we understand that effective lobbying for policy change must include specific project examples, and that fighting successive individual projects without addressing root causes is not an efficient use of our resources nor will it decelerate the pace of destructive project construction.
We work with environmental and human rights groups around the world in cooperative campaigns for community-based river development. Our involvement depends on our services being independently requested by credible, like-minded non-governmental organizations or by individuals from project-affected communities. In all our work, we rely on the leadership provided by the people directly affected by dams and other large-projects water intervention projects.
IRN undertakes in-depth research and provides project critiques, analysis of alternatives, and activist briefings. We monitor and critique the policies of financial institutions including the World Bank and provide substantial analysis and recommendations for reforming their practices. We mobilize international support from our network of activists and experts, assist in fundraising for campaigns at the local level, and generate publicity through industry, alternative, and mainstream media.
Exercises and Activities for Skill A:
Identifying Bias
Discuss the following questions:
1. Which of the two, MRC or IRN, would most likely support the reasons for building a dam on the Mekong River? Give three reasons why you think this is so.
2. Which of the two, MRC or IRN, would find it important to talk to people who live in villages along the river? Support your answer by giving three reasons why you think this is so.
3. With whom, MRC or IRN, would an organization like the World Bank most likely negotiate with?
4. Which of the two, MRC or IRN, would have a more comprehensive study of the construction projects of the Mekong considering the engineering, scientific, and social aspects to changes in the river?
5. Which of the two, MRC or IRN, would you most likely agree with? For what reasons?
Explanation of Reading Study Skill B:
Recognizing Reading Structure
In chapter one we learned that each paragraph has a topic and we practiced identifying the topic sentence. In an essay or other academic writing, the paragraphs together support one main idea or thesis. Often, reading structure follows a similar pattern to a paragraph:
· Paragraph One: Introductory paragraph that states the thesis. This paragraph briefly states the examples and details that will support the main idea.
· Paragraph Two: Is usually a bridge or transition from the main thesis to the supportive ideas and examples.
· Paragraph Three: An example or idea that supports the thesis.
· Paragraph Four: An example or idea that supports the thesis.
· Paragraph Five: An example or idea that supports the thesis. (Usually an essay or article contains at least three ways to support the thesis.
· Paragraph Six or Last Paragraph: Conclusion or summary, which often restates the thesis and its support.
If we analyze Reading 1, we recognize these things about the essay.
· Paragraph One: States the main idea or thesis toward the end of the paragraph: “The Mekong touches every aspect of human life. These examples support the main idea: (1) Geography (resources), (2) heart and soul of the people.
· Paragraph Two: Geography example includes this support: (1) among the least spoiled rivers, (2) teems with abundance of plants and animals, and (3) must manage resources with population growth.
· Paragraph Three: Key role in human life (heart and soul) example includes this support: (1) access to remote areas and transport, (2) food, employment, income, (3) irrigation systems.
· Paragraph Four: Conclusion: sustainable development
Discuss Reading 2 in class.
Exercises and Activities for Reading Study Skill B (comprehension):
Read the following article and fill in the blanks below.
1. Paragraph One states the main thesis which is ________________________
________________________________________________________________
2. Paragraph Two supports the main thesis and its main topic is the social impact
on people. Three ideas support this topic and they are (a)__________________, (b)_________________________, and (c)______________________________.
3. Paragraph Three supports the main thesis by explaining the consequences for
the next proposed dam. What conditions do the National Assembly members base their approval for the dam on?___________________________________.
4. Paragraph Four concludes by stating ________________________________.
IRN’s Vietnam Campaign
(from www.irn.org/programs/vietnam)
Vietnam is a country filled with lush mountains and abundant free-flowing rivers. With an agriculture-driven economy, the Vietnamese government has focused its attention on constructing dams for irrigation and electricity generation. From 1959 to 1999, the government constructed about 500 dams, weirs and sluices. The largest dam in the country is Hoa Binh, which flooded 20,800 ha of land and displaced 58,000 people, most of whom were ethnic minorities. The environmental and social impacts of Hoa Binh were not properly taken into account.
Recently, studies on the impacts of the $1 billion Yali Falls Dam reveal that the project has caused serious impacts on people displaced and communities living downstream. Many of those displaced do not have stable incomes or adequate cultivable land and suffer from shortages of food and drinking water. Some villagers living downstream in Vietnam and Cambodia face health problems caused by degraded water quality and have lost possessions, animals and crops due to flooding caused by the dam.
The proposed $3.5 billion Son La Dam would be the largest dam in Vietnam and displace almost 100,000 people. In June 2001, in an unprecedented move, members of the National Assembly expressed concern over the 3,600-MW project and refused to approve appropriations for the dam until further studies regarding resettlement and dam safety have been completed.
IRN is currently monitoring ongoing and planned hydropower projects in Vietnam.
Exercises and Practice of Past Reading Skills:
Xem hai tấm ảnh dưới đây và trả lời các câu hỏi gợi ý:.
Look at the two photos below and answer the following guiding questions
1. Điều nảy sinh trong trí khi em thấy những tấm ảnh này ?
2. Theo em những con sông này ở nước nào?
3. Tại sao em nghĩ như vậy?
4. Những con sông này trông thế nào?
5. Những hoạt động gì đang diễn ra trên sông?
TỪ VỰNG (VOCABULARY):
Danh từ (dt) |
động từ (đt) |
Tính từ (tt) |
Phó từ (pt) |
sông kênh / rạch lúa hoa màu / rau người Việt Nam phù sa nhà bờ sông nước tôm / cá mùa lũ |
đem / mang tưới xây cất lấy tắm giặt đồ |
rộng dài sâu nhỏ hẹp trong nâu xanh thẫm |
nhiều sau |
Luyện tập 2.1:
I. Điền các từ bờ sông, rộng, tôm cá, nhỏ hẹp, phù sa, hoa màu vào chổ trống cho thích hợp (Fill in the blanks with the following words bờ sông, rộng, tôm cá, nhỏ hẹp, phù sa, hoa màu)
1. Sau mùa lũ, nước sông mang nhiều ---------.
2. Người ta thường cất nhà dọc theo-----------.
3. Bạn có thể bắt---------------- trên sông.
4. Sông thì---------- còn kênh rạch thì--------.
5. Người ta lấy nước sông tưới cho---------.
II. Tìm trong cột B những tính từ trái nghĩa với tính từ ở cột A
A |
B |
1. sâu 2. to/ lớn 3. đẹp 4. dài 5. cao 6. rộng 7. trong |
a. bé/ nhỏ b. đục d. thấp e. hẹp f. cạn g. ngắn h. xấu |
BÀI ĐỌC :
Đọc qua các câu hỏi dưới đây trước khi xem bài đọc.
Câ u hỏi:
1. Có nhiều sông rạch ở đồng Bằng sông Cửu Long không?
2. Sông ở đồng Bằng sông Cửu Long trông như thế nào?
3. Kênh rạch nhỏ hay lớn hơn sông?
4. Tại sao vào mùa lũ nước sông có màu nâu?
5. Sông rạch mang đến cho con người những lợi ích gì?
6. Theo bạn, con người có gây ô nhiễm các con sông không?
Bây giờ bạn đã sẵn sàng cho bài đọc. Lướt qua bài đọc dưới đây và cố gắng trả lời các câu hỏi ở trên. Nếu cần bạn có thể dừng lại lâu hơn ở những thông tin cần thiết cho các câu hỏi đấy.
SÔNG RẠCH
Ở Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long có rất nhiều sông rạch. Sông thường rộng, dài và sâu. Kênh rạch nhỏ hẹp hơn. Sông mang nước tưới cho lúa và hoa màu. Người Việt Nam thường xây cất nhà dọc theo hai bên bờ sông. Họ lấy nước uống, tắm và giặt đồ trên sông. Bình thường, nước sông xanh và trong, nhưng vào mùa lũ nước sông có màu nâu vì chứa nhiều phù sa. Sông rạch thường có nhiều tôm cá, nhất là sau mùa lũ.
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